Veronika

In 2007, my wife Debra and I visited Vishki.

Vishki is a tiny place in the region of Eastern Latvia known as Latgale. From the end of the 18th century until 1941, Vishki was a small but thriving community with only a few shops, mostly made up of Jewish families who worked as tradesmen and craftsmen. Now it is only small. There are no shops and most of the Jewish houses that existed before the war are long gone.

I discovered that the grave of my great-grandfather still existed in the Jewish cemetery in Vishki, and I had come to see it. Before my trip, I wrote to the Tourist Information Center in nearby Daugavpils. The person who answered my email told me that she was from Vishki and volunteered to show us around.

We were met by Lolita Kozlovska and her family. Lolita introduced us to Veronika Galvene.

Veronika was born in Vishki in 1923 and lived her entire life there. When she was a girl, her Jewish friends called her the Yiddish Goy. She was not Jewish, but she could speak Yiddish and everyone’s home was open to everyone. Today, the word goy can have a pejorative connotation, but that was not the case here. They really just meant the Jewish non-Jew.

“Dumeshi? Are they Dumeshi?”, Veronika asked in disbelief when Lolita introduced us.

You can listen to the interview while you follow along with the transcription.

Veronika Galvene 1972

BRUCE DUMES (et.al) INTERVIEW WITH VERONIKA
August 2007  Viski,  Latvia

Transcribed and translated from Latgalean by Prof. Len Latkovski   Janury 20, 2008

Latgale Research Center
Hood College
Frederick, MD 21701

************************************************* 
[Aditional editing by Bruce Dumes February 2008]

Date:  August 26, 2007________________________
Place:  A nursing home…in Višķi (pronounced Vishki)… Daugavpils County (Rajons)   Latvia 
Participants:
​Veronika Galvane  Vishki resident.  Born 1923?   Age 84
​Lolita Kozlovska, friend of Veronika
​Lolita’s daughter
​Bruce Dumes, descendant of Dumesh family from Vishki
​Debra MacLaughlan Dumes, Bruce’s wife

Veronika  (V)  [Crying] 

Lolita  (L)   [Calms her]  everything is all right, do not cry. Everything is all right. We have visitors.  These people have come from America, Jewish people from America. They have come here to talk to you.

V:   [is upset..crying] …

L:    She is very ill, and she does not like this place.

V:  From America?  

L:  Los Angeles.  They wanted to see.

V: Dumeshi?? Are they Dumeshi?  There was the synagogue…you saw it?

L: Yes, yes.  We showed it

V: The other [Dumesh] brother lived opposite Ilze Petrovna lived near synagogue.

L:   We told them. She tells about this house in Vishki where lived 2 families, 2 brothers Dumeshi.

B: Do you remember the brothers’ names?

V: I only remember as Dumesh; Dobka, Tsilya, Tanya

L: But in which years did these people live? In the 1930’s?  

V: They were brothers, cousins.  I know one daughter now lives in Daugavpils; Tanya…daughter [of] Tanya…What is her name?  [It is hard to remember] since I get upset…

L: Na Na…. its ok

V: Tanya’s daughter

L: She tells about one woman who is Dumesheva from Dumesh family she lives in Daugavpils.    She is Tanya’s daughter who lives in Daugavpils.  But does not remember [her] name. 

V: There were Tsilya, Tanya, Dobka.  Tanya was the oldest.   We were friends.  These Dumesh near the synagogue had a small shop [from which] we purchased products.  Now Tanya’s daughter lives in Daugavpils.  Tanya is now deceased.  Those near the Synagogue had a shop and made wool.  They made wool from a machine.  When we as a small child we played and rolled this machine.  It was interesting for us. We were friends. I was a friend with more…

L:  This man’s grandfather [was born in Vishki].  [In the] early 1900’s he traveled to America…do you remember anything like that? He has photos…his great-grandfather is buried in the cemetery.  He is a descendent. They will go to the cemetery and try to decipher the inscriptions.

V: …As well as I can remember in my childhood.  The [Germans] arrived and they took them away and shot them.

Bruce Dumes (B) : There are some other names …I wanted to ask about some other people. Do you remember Uzdin’s? Boris Uzdin?

V: Judins  (pronounced Yudins  LL)…  in Latvian Judins.  There was such a Judins.  Yes, Judins had a shop…they were rich people.

B:  Boris?

V: Yes, I will tell you about Borsh. Borshi has immigrated to Israel with his Wife.

V: He telephoned me from there and wanted to return (for a visit?) But did not come.  [He] might be dead.   Bora’s (?) wife…or wife’s son is in Riga. 

L: Where did the Judins live?

V: Judini…there were where the hospital used to be…and next to it was a large house…they tore it down…that house is no longer there.  And the other Yudins lived near the bus stop. Now the Sergeevs live there. Nastya worked in hospital.

L: And what other kinds of last names among the Jewish families?  Who else was there?

V: Joseli.  (Pronounced Yoseli  – LL) They were there where the hospital was.  [They] did not have children.

B: There was a Jossel Dumesh.

V: There were many…all…(I) have forgotten…I am 84 years old

L: She does not remember.   She is old and ill.

V: On our street they lived (next to one another) house next to another house…there were Jews there

V: They called me ‘Yiddishe goye’ because I was friends with them. They spoke well.  I understood and spoke Yiddish. They were my friends.  We all lived together. There were many Jewish friends. They helped me very much.  [They] helped us build a house. The Jews [crying] if it were not for the Jews, I would not be here. I would not be here without Jewish people.  I was young and sick and they sent me to Riga. 

L:  She was young and very ill and they [the Jewish community] collected money and [sent her] to hospital in Riga.

V   [Crying]

L:  don’t cry

V: They were good people.   If there were Jewish people today, I would not have to live here [in old-age home].  They would help me.

L: Do you remember the time they shot…?

V: They collected the men at night and took them to Daugavpils.

V: There was an Ulterman…he cut hair…there were many (Jewish families)

L:   You need not cry…

BD:  I brought a present from Los Angeles

L:  a little present …a picture

V: There were the Pogeli.  [There] were many Pogeli.  They also immigrated to Israel…children…parents are deceased.

R:  Tell us what Vishki was like when you were small, what it was like when you were growing up.

V: The houses were quite prosperous but simple, one house next to another.  Most were merchants.  [They] were very good people, very helpful.

L: Do you remember the time when they shot the people?  We were in that spot and we showed and we told about it.   My grandmother (Baba) told me.

V:  They took the men and drove to Daugavpils.  Later they had said they were taking them to do work.  And later they took the women and children.  One woman named Tauka lived on our street…at night she escaped with a child. [She] came to the house.  My father went out and looked [and saw] Tauka with her child. [They would not] came in and we put bread in a hat [and] took bread out to the mother. [They] left and went as far as Aglona, but there she was apprehended…and with that little boy.  Those are the kind of times they were.

R: In Vishki, they shot the Jews from Dagda?

V: In Vishki from Dagda, being taken to Daugavpils…they had grown tired.  They were on the hill [and] could not go farther and people were killed at this spot.

L: How old were you?

V: 13 or 14

L:  and later when the Germans left  (retreated) …they were burned up   
[not clear.-LL]   23:20


V: I am very grateful to the Jews  (Ebrejim), very grateful. [When] I was with them [they called me] ‘Yiddishe goy’.  Thank you for coming here.

My wife Debra wrote:

It turns out that Veronika’s childfriend from Vishki, Tanya Dumesh, was related to me. Tanya’s Uncle Israel Dumesh, who owned the shop that Veronika spoke about, was my first cousin twice removed. But I didn’t know that yet. The whole story will be in my forthcoming book, Remember Vishki.